Barbara Stewart as the evil Barbaria
Barbara Stewart (Candace Kita) is one of the protagonists from FOX's series, Masked Rider. She is the wife of Hal Stewart and the adoptive mother of Dex (the titular Masked Rider and main protagonist), Molly, and Albee. Barbara became a villainess in the series' penultimate episode, "Exit Nefaria, Enter Barbaria" (airdate November 18, 1996), going under the name Barbaria.
The episode had Count Dregon (Dex's uncle and the series' main antagonist) fed up with Nefaria's failures and shrinking her down to size, while also taking her powers. Looking for a suitable replacement, Dregon decided to abduct Barbara and transfer Nefaria's powers to her, turning the usually kindly Barbara into the evil Barbaria. After the transformation, Barbaria was placed back into the Stewart household, where she shifted back into Barbara to avert suspicion. Barbara's heel persona made an impression on Molly and Albee, with the former being surprised over being told that she studies too much, while the latter expressed shock over Barbara cheating at cards.
Dex and Albee's worries about Barbara are confirmed when they catch her communicating with Dregon, and it was at that moment that Barbara dropped her charade and introduced herself as Barbaria, after which she subdued Dex with her new powers. After hearing that Dregon released a monster known as the Insectivore Lobstatron, Barbaria mockingly gave Dex a choice: either deal with her or go after the monster. Dex chose the latter, which was met with a wicked cackle from Barbaria. Later on in the episode's climax, the evil Barbaria appeared and sent the Lobstatron away so she could deal with Dex herself. However, Dex refused to fight due to his belief that his mother was still under her villainous shell, and Dex's words began to get through to Barbara. She returned to Dregon's ship and later took possession of the personality switcher, using it to turn herself back to normal before escaping.
Barbara reunited with Dex after he defeated the Lobstatron, but the episode ended with the rest of the family entering the house in fear of Barbara, due to not knowing that she was back to normal. Barbara appeared and acted villainous as a tease, only to confirm to Hal and the rest of the family that she's back to normal, while also apologizing for her strange behavior.
Trivia[]
- Candace Kita was credited as Candace Camille Bender during her tenure on the series.
- Candace Kita later played villainess Chlorine in 2002's Top Dogs: Little Heroes 3.
